#foreveragainstanimaltesting

“Not a single creature on earth has more or less right to be here.” – Anthony Douglas Williams

Hello, Everyone!

Today I wanted to talk about a cause that is really important to me: animal rights.

The Body Shop started a petition to ban all animal-testing–forever. Often times we don’t realize that the products we use in our everyday routine was tested on an animal. More and more companies have been trying to veer away from the animal-testing path, however there are still certain loopholes that can be found.

I was ecstatic when The Body Shop put out this petition. The idea of animal-testing seems unbelievable in this day and age, especially with advancements in technology and science. If you don’t know The Body Shop, it is an amazing 100% vegetarian and cruelty-free brand (they also have a variety of products that are vegan). They use natural ingredients and sell everything from bronzers to specialty skincare products. 🙂

I was 18 when I started researching about animal-testing. My professor had us do a persuasive speech, so I decided to do mine on animal-testing and cruelty-free beauty. I began digging and looking at various case studies. It was cruel and astonishing what I found. Some studies I read were graphic and horrific. I was angered by what I read so I started to look into what brands did/did not test on animals. It was shocking to see that some of the top drug-store and luxury brands still test on animals. I made a vow to stop using animal-tested products in my own life.

Making the change was hard, especially if you already have your established routines, but it was completely worth it. There are so many amazing brands and companies out there, drug-store and luxury, who are actively choosing to be cruelty-free.

Some people say one person doesn’t make a difference, but I think one person can make a huge impact. By changing my lifestyle, I made those around me aware of this issue and conscious about their own decisions. For instance, my sister started carefully selecting beauty products and my friends made sure that what they bought me was not tested on animals. I am not writing this to force feed anyone my beliefs, rather to spread awareness. This Fall marks 2 years of being cruelty-free.

I believe that every living creature on this planet deserves a good life. I also believe that we as human beings should not put our needs above the needs of other species. There is always another way. My mom always says, when one door closes another one opens; we just need to find that other door.